Valentine Decorations Part Deux

Banners?  Check.
Paper plates?  Check.
Utensils?  Check.

Centerpieces?  Ummmm....

I needed something quick and easy, so I dug in the garage for the lanterns we decorated for my daughter's wedding.  After the wedding and reception, we pulled out all the flowers and moss, cut off the ribbon and boxed 'em up.  I thought they would be perfect for centerpieces.  (Scroll down to the bottom of this post if you're interested in seeing the wedding version of the lanterns.)

We bought these Rotera lanterns last year at Ikea.  They are around $4 each. They are metal with glass inserts and as you can see they have a spot to hold a votive candle.  The glass has stars etched in it as well.  Easy to change out ribbons, candles, or whatever you choose to stuff inside for whatever event or holiday comes your way!

No glue involved in this project.  I just bought a yard of tulle, cut it into strips for the bow (1 yard divided by 6) and cut up the flowers so that they could be inserted inside the lantern.  I wrapped the tulle strip around the top a couple of times and tied a bow.  Trimmed the long ends, fluffed it up and was done!

I spent $7 on the tulle and flowers so this turned out to be an economical project.  Even if I had to purchase the lanterns, I could have six centerpieces for about $30!  Not bad!!
 

Start with the lanterns...

... and some simple supplies - in this case tulle (just a yard) and silk flowers.

The finished product

Here is the wedding version.  We purchased enough lanterns for the aisles as well as garden hooks (from JoAnn's Fabrics).  We painted the hooks white to match the lanterns. The wedding colors were light blue and white, so we used those colors in the flowers and ribbons.

We used moss, white and small blue silk flowers.

 

We had three ribbons - light blue satin and then a thin white and cream tied into a simple bow.

The lanterns "in action" at the ceremony venue.

They were brought home for the reception and added to the sweetheart table along with the gorgeous flowers that the groom's family provided.  (These flowers were from the gazebo arrangement and also brought back to the reception.)